LEWISTON — A Richmond man who joined in a random street attack on a stranger last year was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison.

Five years of the seven-year sentence for Patrick Alexander III, 19, were suspended on the charge of aggravated assault. The Class B felony was punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Robbery and a more serious assault charge were dropped by prosecutors in exchange for the plea.

After he serves his time behind bars, Alexander will be on probation for three years.

Police said Patrick and two other men had been drinking when they decided to beat up a person on the night of July 21. They ran from a Shawmut Street apartment yelling their threat, witnesses reportedly told police.

The group blocked the street, refusing to let a man driving a gold SUV pass by. The man, later identified as Ricky Cote, 47, told police he had been visiting his estranged wife, who lived on Shawmut Street, and was attempting to leave, according to a police report.

Witnesses said the men yelled, “N—–, don’t get out of your car,” as they pounded on the SUV’s windows.

Cote, who appeared at Alexander’s court hearing Tuesday, had stepped out of his vehicle and was attacked by several of the men, according to a witness in police reports.

Cote fell to the ground as men in the group punched and kicked him. One of the men took Cote’s wallet. He was left lying on the ground, bleeding from his head, police said.

Cote, who suffered a broken nose, broken teeth, a dislocated shoulder, concussion and abrasions, told police he had asked the men in the roadway to move. They refused and told him not to get out of his car, using a racial epithet. Cote left his car and was punched by one man, then others punched and kicked him. He said he lost consciousness.

The two other men charged in the attack were Zachary Hoyt, 20, of Litchfield and Brandon Roy, 19, of 81 Shawmut St.

Conditions of Alexander’s three-year probation include no possession of alcohol and illegal drugs, subject to random search and testing. He also was ordered by Judge Charles Dow in the 8th District Court’s Unified Criminal Docket to complete an evaluation, counseling and treatment for substance abuse and mental health issues.

He must pay $1,218 in restitution to Cote and have no contact with him, nor with Hoyt or Roy.

Alexander must perform 10 hours of public service for every week he isn’t employed, at least part-time, after his release from prison, Judge Dow said.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com